Beautiful Vietnam » Hanoi
Taking the Silk Path through Hanoi
  • | dtinews.vn | March 30, 2010 10:47 AM

Approaching the recently-opened Silk Path Hotel from the street, eyes are drawn to a well lit, modern, white marble and gold-trimmed, Ceasar-esque looking building right in the heart of Hanoi.

The hotel is making splashes in Hanoi and may very well be a game changer for the 4-star hotel market.

Silk Path impresses upon entry. The spacious lobby greets visitors with a friendly staff and excellent decor. Marbled floors and graceful artwork add to the welcoming vibe for guests. The hotel screams of modern Asia in all of its details and is an example of what contemporary Hanoi aspires to be.

It holds 106 rooms and is smack in the middle of Hanoi's hotspots. Minutes from Hoan Kiem Lake, the Hanoi Opera House, the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and a plethora of shopping centres, its location is a huge plus for travelers. It's also bracing to become a popular venue for meetings, weddings, and other banquet events, offering deluxe catering and conference facilities with the latest technologies.

The intricate, elegant, classy, and modern hotel opened its doors this year and is raising the bar for other hotels in the area.

I checked-in to the hotel on a Friday night ready to indulge in all of its offerings. My room was on the seventh floor of the nine-story building. Everything in the hotel is new. The room, a "Silk Deluxe", is one of three offered by the hotel (Deluxe, Executive, Suite). The carpet was soft, the bed huge, the pillow selection impressive (I believe there were six) and the view of the city incredible. The bathroom was spacious and included a large tub and rain-forest shower head that pours from the ceiling above, providing an excellent way to unwind. Each room is also equipped with a large flat screen television.

After fooling around with some of the gadgets and dials in the room, I proceeded to check out the dining options. There are two restaurants and three bars to choose from. One of the hotels restaurant's is called "Bellisimo", named after the Chef. The cuisine is a variety of western dishes including pizzas and pastas from Bella Italia, paella and gaspachos from Spain, olive salads and moussakas from Greece, kebabs, hommos and moulabel-oriental appetizers from Lebanon, as well as fallafel and shawarma from Egypt. For me, I was in the mood for steak, and ordered a 220 gram Australian cut medium. The food was excellent, the wine selection nice, and the service quite good. Being newly opened, they were still working out a few kinks, and the menu is expensive, but the food was cooked to perfection.

After the meal, it was back to the room for rest, relaxation and to test out the room-service. The staff was quick and efficient bringing some wine and a Greek salad.

I slept well in a very comfortable bed with smooth linens and quality air control. When I woke up, I was refreshed and almost forgot I was in Hanoi for a moment.

Next up was the breakfast buffet which tops any I've had thus far in Vietnam. There was a wide range of foods; waffles, pancakes, hash browns, an assortment of fruits, freshly squeezed juices and an amazing omelet bar.

Checkout came faster than I wanted, but this was a holiday away from Hanoi without even having to leave the city. Silk Path is an ideal place for business travelers or even those city dwellers looking for an escape from the daily chaos of Hanoi.

An added bonus is that Silk Path is aiming to be environmentally conscious as can be seen in their rooms: "Meeting your needs is our highest priority. Achieving that and serving our environment is a distinction in which we can all take great pride."

For more information on Silk Path Hotel visit their website: www.silkpathhotel.com

The hotel is located at: 195 -199 Hang Bong, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, Vietnam

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